So, why do you hate Windows Vista?

Monday, October 27th, 2008

Windows Vista looks destined to go down in history as the latter-day version of Windows ME – an operating system that added some visual fluff to its predecessor’s solid workings, while somehow mucking up its usability.

But I’m not convinced by this. I’ve been using Vista in anger since the day of its release, and have long since given up Windows XP because I found I got most things done much more quickly with Vista in place.

So it came as a bit of a culture shock when, this weekend, I had brief cause to fire up a netbook. And although there are lots of things that Microsoft royally messed up in Vista, this drummed home to me just how basic XP is in comparison. (more…)

Windows 7: 582 days and counting

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008

Microsoft has broken its vow of silence over Windows 7, with Steve Ballmer claiming that the new operating system will arrive by “late 2009.” Read our news story to find out what’s coming in Windows 7 here.

That gives Mr B and the Microsoft engineers precisely 582 days (thank you Online Conversion.com) to get the operating system out of the door, or once again face ridicule for slipping deadlines.

On such a tight deadline (Vista took six years, remember) it’s patently obvious Microsoft isn’t ripping up Vista and starting again. Although the Vista Team Blog claims Windows 7 is a “major release”, it also reveals that the “the long-term architectural investments we introduced in Windows Vista and then refined for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 will carry forward in Windows 7.” There will be no new kernel either, with Microsoft even claiming that any hardware capable of running Vista will work fine with Windows 7.

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